Why We Aren’t Amazing.

The last decade of emergent sales technology has produced an environment where data is integral to customer acquistion.

Prospects can be analyzed, tracked, and strategically targeted with greater precision than ever before in the history of business.

And with all of this new data, we would expect that sales efficiency and business revenues would be at an all-time high.

We’re more confused than ever.

The experts seem convinced that we need a better process.

We’re told that we need to forget about our gut instinct and “look at the numbers”.  That anything too “touchy-feely” has no place in our sales marketing departments.

We’re told that the future of selling is really better,  automated marketing tools.

But that doesn’t seem to jive with the real story that is evolving in the profession of selling.

We aren’t inspired.

Heck, most of us should have other jobs in the first place.

After conducting a 10 year study, Caliper Research concluded that 55% of sales executives should not be in the profession at all.  Further findings by the group concluded that another 25% of sales professionals are in the wrong sales position.

That means that 80% of sales people aren’t going to be amazing regardless of the tools they are handed or the training that they receive.

Which begs the question about what really motivates us.

Why aren’t we amazing.

We all want to know that what we do matters.  That’s how we start off in life.

Things are simple.  We are careful to analyze, compute, and ensure that our effort and stress and agony has a purpose.

But then bad decisions, money problems, and a smidge of desperation enter the mix and we find ourselves selling our souls for the next commission check.

1. We want a process instead of a purpose. — Instead of having a dream and working towards that goal we want someone to spoon-feed us the seven steps that it takes to be successful.  And the steps don’t really work and our dream is dead — and it’s really a hopeless position that we put ourselves in.
2. We perfect excuses instead of effort. — Instead of working tirelessly to achieve success, we get good at blaming people and circumstances around up.  There is always someone else who is at fault for our under-performance.  And what we should really be asking ourselves is why we aren’t willing to dedicate the effort that success demands.
3. We demand fairness instead of a future. — Instead of pushing through obstacles or standing back up on our feet when we are pushed down, all too often we fly into a rage over why we think we aren’t being treated fairly.  It’s more excuse-making.  And it’s a horrible mental state to live in.
4. We want acceptance instead of awareness. — Instead of pushing against the crowd and leading, we tend to want the crowd to give us a thumbs up.  It’s hard being the “odd-man-out”.  So we chase approval and leave our destiny in the hands of others.  Maybe what we need is more awareness of who we really want to be.

We can be amazing.

We just have to start making the right choices.

Choices that are hard and uncomfortable — and eventually rewarding.